Improvement in rotary engines



W. E. BARTRUM. 8v H. G. POWELL.

Rietary -Engines, 8H3.

No. 208,559. Patented Oct. 1, 1878.

INVENTQR ATTORNEYS.

ASHINGTON. D 0.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER E. BARTRUM AND HENRY O. POWELL, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

IMPROVEMENT IN ROTARY ENGINES, 800.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 208,559, dated October1, 1878 application filed July 23, 1878.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WALTER EccLEsr0N BARTRUM and HENRY OoKE POWELL, ofLondon, England, have invented a new and useful Improvement in RotaryEngines, Pumps, Blowers, and Meters, of which the following is aspecification:

This invention relates to rotary apparatus that may be employed as anengine worked by steam or other fluid under pressure, or as a pump forraising or forcing fluids, or as a liquid or fluid meter.

This apparatus consists of a cylinder, in the axis of which is mounted ashaft, having on it an eccentric or crank. On this eccentric or crank isfitted a strap of such thickness that its exterior is in contact withthe interior surface of the cylinder. From one side of the said strap anarm or slab projects through bushes mounted'in the side of the cylinder,through which bushes it can freely slide, while these bushes themselvescan partly rotate. A port or passage is formed through the side of thecylinder, near the said bushes on the one side thereof,-and another portis likewise pro vided on their other side, steam or other fluid underpressure being admitted by the one of these ports, while an escape isprovided at the other port. The excess of pressure on the one side ofthe eccentric or crank causes it to revolve and the shaft to rotatetherewith, the apparatus thus forming arctary engine or fluidmeter; orif the shaft be caused to rotate by power applied thereto fluid will bedrawn in at one of the ports, and will be forced out at the other, theapparatus thus constituting a rotary pump or instrument for raising orforcing fluids.

Either of the ports mentioned above, instead of being formed in the sideof the cylinder, might be formed as a passage in the slab arm of theeccentric strap, opening at its outer end into a chamber connected witheither the supply or the discharge, and at its inner end opening by alateral aperture into the cylinder.

Figure 1 represents a vertical transverse section taken on line 00 at,Fig. 2; andljjig. 2 is a vertical section taken on-line g y'inFig. 1.

Similar letters of r ef er ceindicate corresponding parts.

A is a cylinder, through the axis of which is mounted a shaft, B, thatpasses through a stuffing-box in one of the end covers of the cylinder,or it may pass through stuffing-boxes in both covers. On the shaft B isfixed a crank, B, on which is placed the eccentric O. The eccentric O isembraced by the piston D, which extends the whole length of the cylinderA, and which is made of such thickness as to fit exactly between theouter circumference of the eccentric O and the inner surface of thecylinder A.

When slackness results from wear, a cap, a. on the side of the cylindercan be removed, and by turning the eccentric O the piston D may beadjusted to bear against the inner surface of the cylinder A; also, asliding plate, E, is provided at one end of the cylinder A, which platecan be set up by screws e to take up any lateral movement and preventleakage. From the piston D a slab or arm, F, extends, and is guidedthrough a cylindrical rocking joint, Gr, arranged in a cavity at oneside of the cylinder, the slab F being capable of sliding longitudinallythrough the joint, while the joint itself is capable of partiallyrotating in its seat.

In order to insure a good fit of the cylindrical joint to its seatingand to the slab F, and to prevent leakage of fluid through it, one sideof the joint is made to work against a sliding plate, 9, pushed by aspring or by the pressure of fluid in the cavity h, at the mouth ofwhich the joint G is fitted.

A port, f, is formed in the slab F, communicating at its end with thecavity H. The cavityHis supplied with steam or other fluid underpressure through the opening I, and at the side of the cylinder A, closeto the joint G, is an outlet-passage, O, communicating with adischarge-pipe at K. I

The apparatus operates as follows: The eccentric 0 being in the positionshown in Fig. 2, the steam or working fluid flows from H by the passagef into the cylinder A, and pressing on the one side of the piston Dcauses the eccentric and shaft B to revolve toward the opening 0. Therotation of the shaft and eccentric continues till the supply f has beencut off; but the movement is continued by the expansion of the fluidalready supplied to the one side of the cylinder A until thedischargeoutlet 0 is exposed, whereupon the fluid escapes by thedischarge-pipe at K after having done its work in the cylinder, and thelike action is repeated in every revolution.

The shaft B may be provided with a flywheel to carry the eccentric andmoving parts over the dead-center, which occurs when the eccentricstands in the position opposite to that shown in Fig. l; or two engines,such as we have described, may be arranged to act on the same shaft,their eccentrics being set opposite to one another, or nearly so.

We have described the operation of the apparatus as an engine, by whichthe pressure of a fluid is made to give rotary motion to a shaft, eitherfor the production of motive power or to act as a meter for themeasurement of the fluid passing through a cylinder of known capacity.

It may be readily understood, however, that by giving from an extraneoussource rotary motion to the shaft B the apparatus could be made to actas a pump for raising or forcing fluids, the pipes I and K servingeither for inlet or for outlet, respectively, according to the directionin which the shaft B may be caused to revolve.

Having thus described our invention, we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent The combination of the cylinder A, crankshaftB, having eccentric G, the piston D, extending the whole length of thecylinder and having slide-arm F, with port f and the joint G, as and forthe purpose specified.

WALTER E. BARTRUM. HENRY COKE POWELL.

Witnesses:

W. T. N. CARRINGTON, G. MERRICK.

